A government is an institution that holds a monopoly on the legitimate use of violence.
Max WeberRead
The modern view of criminal justice, broadly, is that public concern with morality or expediency decrees expiation for the violation of a norm; this concern finds expression in the infliction of punishment on the evil doer by agents of the state, the evil doer, however, enjoying the protection of a regular procedure.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote discusses how modern criminal justice reflects societal values regarding morality and punishment.
Max Weber's quote examines the contemporary perspective on criminal justice, emphasizing that society's moral concerns dictate the need for punishment when norms are violated. It highlights the role of state agents in executing justice while ensuring that the accused are protected by established legal procedures, illustrating the balance between moral accountability and legal rights.
Themes
Criminal JusticePunishmentMoralitySocietyLaw
In practice
Example use cases
During a panel discussion on law enforcement, one might say, 'As Max Weber noted, the modern view of criminal justice is shaped by our moral obligations to punish wrongdoing.'
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The fate of our times is characterized by rationalization and intellectualization and, above all, by the 'disenchantment of the world.' Precisely the ultimate and most sublime values have retreated from public life either into the transcendental realm of mystic life or into the brotherliness of direct and personal human relations. It is not accidental that our greatest art is intimate and not monumental.
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Power is the chance to impose your will within a social context, even when opposed and regardless of the integrity of that chance.
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Causal analysis provides absolutely no value judgment, and a value judgment is absolutely not a causal explanation.
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